Green hydrogen (& green methane) made from the sun's energy and water from air.

Professor Moghtaderi & Dr Maddocks with canisters of green hydrogen, PV array and their Hydro Harvester innovation (University of Newcastle)

Engineers at the University of Newcastle, Australia, have used their innovative Hydro Harvester in combination with solar panels and a hydrogen electrolyser to make green hydrogen from the air. See this video. To transport the hydrogen, they take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, add it to the hydrogen (H2) to make green methane (CH4). 

The green hydrogen can be used in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with water as the only waste product. The green methane can be transported in natural gas pipelines and used domestically as a substitute for natural gas. The waste product from burning methane is CO2 which returns the CO2 back to the air completing a sustainable carbon cycle.

By using the university's Hydro Harvester which makes pure water from the air at night, they are not placing pressure on potable water used for domestic and industrial use. The atmospheric produced water (H2O) is split in the electrolyser using an electrical current from solar panels to make hydrogen (H2) with oxygen (O2) as the waste product.

The plan is to work with an international car manufacturer to demonstrate the green hydrogen at one of their Sydney based locations. In addition, the green methane technology will be demonstrated at a gas hub near Roma, Queensland, where it can be transported via existing gas pipelines to east coast locations.

Read more: 

- Hydro Harvester is making a splash to solve global water shortage. University of Newcastle, December 11, 2019. 

- New green hydrogen made from solar power and air. University of Newcastle, September 4, 2020. 

- Green hydrogen breakthrough uses energy from the sun, water from the air. RenewEconomy, September 8, 2020.